PVP-PANORAMA No. 267 • 04/10/21

PANORAMA Palos Verdes Peninsula

No. 267 • April 10, 2021

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IT’S EVERYTHING AT ONCE

Defend The New Home Turf . . . Peninsula High took on Redondo Union to open the spring football season.

PV Girls Lacrosse Add Another Win . . . Senior captain Emily Typrowicz scores a goal against Glendale to lead the Sea Kings to an 18-5 win and an undefeated record.

The Fastest Cats . . . High school track and field is back in action at Peninsula High.

Cartoon

It’s Everything At Once . . .

See Page 5

Celebration

New Turf At Peninsula High See Page 9

It Is Baseball Season . . . Little League back this weekend.

Outstanding

Local Teachers Honored Page 6

Tryouts!

First Pitch, First Hit, First Picture See Page 15

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April 10, 2021

A Senior Class Like No Other . . . All masked-up and ready to finish the most bazaar year in their young lives, Peninsula High School senior football players and senior cheerleaders will have a time explaining their high school years during the corona virus pandemic to their children.

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Tiger’s Hawthorne Crash Puts Local Roads In The National Headlines Speed Limits • Hawthorne Blvd. proves nonnegotiable at high speed for top golfer.

By Timothy Niemann On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the eyes of the sport’s world turned to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, as one of the most decorated golfers of all time was involved in a horrific car crash in Rolling Hills Estates.

Tiger Woods, who has won a record 82 PGA Tour events, was driving a loaner Genesis GV80 SUV from Terranea Resort to Rolling Hills Country Club in the morning hours of the day.

Woods was traveling down Hawthorne Boulevard towards Palos Verdes Drive North when he picked up speed. The vehicle passed over the dividing median, crossed to the other side of the road and flipped into brush beside the street. Woods was the only person in the car.

A neighbor called 911 at 7:12 a.m.

Woods was traveling 84 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone when the crash occurred, and he was still accelerating even though he was going downhill, according to police reports.

Sheriff’s Captain James Powers said that it’s possible Woods meant to hit the brake but accidentally hit the accelerator while in panic. When his vehicle hit a tree on the other side of the median, Woods was still traveling 75 miles mph.

As news of the crash began to break about four hours after the incident, news helicopters began to circle the area. National networks were airing live footage of the rental car in the brush as Woods was in surgery at UCLA Harbor Hospital.

This is not the first time that Woods has been involved in accidents involving cars. In 2009 the pro golfer crashed outside his Florida residence on Thanksgiving night. In 2017, Woods checked himself into a clinic after receiving a DUI. Because of this, many in

the media and elsewhere suspected that Woods may have been impaired due to medication, drugs or alcohol.

But the Sheriff’s department has declared the crash “purely an accident.”

Officials found no signs of impairment, and no charges will be filed against Woods.

When pressed on why Woods would not be charged, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, “To get probable cause you need to have building blocks of evidence to indicate that someone potentially committed a crime, and that’s higher than just a reasonable suspicion. You cannot approach a judge for a search warrant just because, ‘Well, we knew they had trouble in the past or something, therefore, can you sign this?’ And the judge is going to say, ‘Get out of here.’ “ In a statement released April 2, Woods said that he is grateful to the Sheriff’s Deputies, firemen and paramedics who helped him that morning.

Going Back To School Divides Local Students By Schedule

More Options

• High school students grapple with going back on campus as final spring semester rolls on.

By Keila Bara It has now been more than a year since Palos Verdes high school students have sat down at a desk and had a teacher in front of them face to face.

As the end of the school nears, with only about eight weeks left until summer vacation, most students are prepared to finish the school year digitally. Recently, however, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) has announced plans for in-person learning to resume on April 12.

This came as a shock to everyone because coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have remained high, and most

students have finally gotten the hang of learning online. Some were pleased by this news, longing for social interaction, hands-on learning and the end to struggling with distance learning. Others were not so pleased, opting out of the hybrid option and switching to full online school for the remainder of the year.

It is quite a divide between who is eager to return and who is not, and there are valid reasons on both sides. Aware of this, the District has developed a flexible plan that allows students and their families to decide what they are most comfortable with.

As of now, the schedule to go back to school is fairly straightforward - hybrid students will go to school four days a week, keeping Wednesdays completely online for all.

However, this schedule was not announced until Monday, April 5, a mere week before returning to cam-

pus. Prior to this date, all students and faculty were under the assumption that students would be divided into two cohorts.

Cohort A would meet on Mondays and Tuesdays, with Mondays being for periods one through three and Tuesdays being for periods four through six. Cohort B would be Thursdays and Fridays, with Thursdays being in-person for the last three periods and Fridays being for the first three.

This schedule was incredibly complicated, and it was a main factor for most people choosing to opt out of the hybrid program. Many students do not drive or have access to their own vehicles, which made the midday switch nearly impossible.

“I was originally planning on going back to school as a hybrid student, as I was eager to spend my final two months of high school in person,” Pen-

Palos Verdes Peninsula

PANORAMA On Staff Fiona Andersons Keila Bara Beau Demerjian Alexis Ferguson Sammy Funk Sarah Liu Joaquin Lugo Timothy Niemann Fiona Yang Publisher/Editor: Tom Combs Copy Editors: Sue Demerjian,

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Photo by Chris Stillians of CMS Design Portraiture

Educators Of The Year . . . Pictured from left to right, front row: Christy

Burden (Peninsula Heritage School), Bonnie Roth (Dapplegray Elementary School), Captain Joy Groenleer (College for Officer Training at the Salvation Army), José Rincón (Marymount California University). Back row: Chris Meisel (Chadwick School), Lydia Cordova (Ridgecrest Intermediate School), Michelle Slattery (Palos Verdes Peninsula High School), Kristy Spencer (Rancho Vista Elementary School), and Jonny Brammah (Rolling Hill Preparatory School).

Rotary Club Honors Local Teachers Best of the Best Building on a 40-year tradition, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Club honored nine outstanding local teachers at their signature Educator of the Year event on Thursday, Feb. 4. Rather than the traditional gala dinner, this year’s ceremony was presented virtually.

“Of all years, we felt that this is a critical year to highlight teaching,” said Club President Eileen Hupp. “We applaud all educators who are working tirelessly online, in hybrid format, and in-person. Since it was not possible to gather for our usual gala, we had to be creative and do it virtually,” Hupp said.

This year’s presentation was hosted

by Club members and event co-chairs Joan Behrens and Dr. James Hartman.

Each year, a rotating group of schools selects an Educator of the Year.

The honorees this year are: Lydia Cordova, Ridgecrest Intermediate School; Michelle Slattery, Palos Verdes Penin-

sula High School; Kristy Spencer, Rancho Vista Elementary School; Bonnie Roth, Dapplegray Elementary School; Captain Joy Groenleer, College for Officer Training at the Salvation Army; Jose Rincon, Marymount California University; Chris Meisel, Chadwick School; Christy Burden, Peninsula Heritage School, and Jonny Brammah, Rolling Hills Preparatory and Renaissance Schools.

The Educator of the Year event provides the platform for the Rotary Club’s commitment to education by serving the dual purpose of honoring local teachers and raising funds for needsbased college scholarships.

Graduating seniors are encouraged to apply for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Club’s College Scholarships.

Over the past decade, the Rotary Club has continued the tradition of honoring outstanding local teachers, while also raising more than $400,000 for needs-based college and vocational scholarships for students.

— email reports

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Floating On Air . . . Peninsula High cheer squads were prepared to stir up the home fans during the Panthers’ home games this season.

Panthers Hit The Ground Running . . . Junior running back Jared Hughes gains big yards against Culver City during the last home game of the year.

Athletes Back On The Field . . . Peninsula High senior Grant Zane makes a hard catch during Bay League action against Culver City.

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Peninsula Begins New Era On Turf Football

• Peninsula High School opened its new field turf with a spring football game against Redondo Union.

The all-purpose, all-weather field is soft and spungy and is surrounded by the Panther’s new all-weather track.

Always Green . . . The Peninsula High football team takes the field during the first home game of the season.

The Grand Opening . . . Former School Board member Suzanne Seymour uses the traditional giant scissors to cut the yellow ribbon and officially open the new turf field at Peninsula High School.

Make The Most Of Each Play . . .

Grant Zane and other Peninsula seniors are making the most of the shortened season.

Football Plays In March . . .

Senior quarterback Joe Rhodes begins the new season on the new turf at Peninsula High School.

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April 10, 2021

Sea Kings Remain Undefeated Girls Lacrosse

• Palos Verdes High girls’ lacrosse team is undefeated after a 18-5 win over Glendale.

The 3-0 Sea Kings will travel to Culver City today and open league action at Mira Costa Monday.

Let’s Score Another Goal . . .

Sophomore midfielder Kyra Schmid controls the ball and takes it down the field for the Sea Kings.

Backstop . . .

PV freshman goalie Grace Moore had two saves against the Nitros.

Taking Control . . . Harper Skeie scored three goals and had six assists to lead the Sea Kings to the nonconference win at home.

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The Chase Is On . . . The Sea Kings’ Emily Typrowicz led the team with five goals and was named player of the game against Glendale.

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Super Sophomore Powers . . . PV sophomore Sarah Park kept busy by scoring four goals to help the Sea Kings remain undefeated in the shortened season.

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April 10, 2021

PV Seeks Another Bay League Title

PV Football

• Sea Kings set to defend another Bay League title - again.

By Joaquin Lugo Football is back at Palos Verdes High School After a long hiatus due to COVID -19 restrictions, the Sea Kings are back in action. At first, the odds of having a football season this year were low, but because of a decrease in coronavirus cases, football has returned to Southern California.

The Sea Kings are doing an excellent job making sure every player and coach is masked up when necessary and maintaining social distancing guidelines. All the players are grateful to be back and ready to play.

Senior Cameron Collier talked about the emotional news of the return of football: “When I heard we were going to have a season, I was ecstatic because my teammates and I were finally able to play football after months of having social distance practice without footballs.”

When asked about the team’s goal this season, Cameron said, “Our goal is to win Bay League so we can make our coaches and football alumni proud.”

Hearing players’ enthusiasm at the end of practice it is easy to see that the team mentality is up to achieving that goal.

Varsity offensive lineman Johan Van Wier, when asked about his personal goal for the season, said, “I am striving to be faster and to build better relationships with my teammates.”

So far this season, the Sea Kings are

well on their way to becoming league champions again, carrying a perfect 3-0 Bay League record going into yesterday’s tough game against Culver City.

PV has already defeated Santa Monica, Mira Costa and Redondo Union in league action.

The Sea Kings will finish the regular season by hosting rival Peninsula April 16.

The Uncharted Territory Continues

. . . Continued from Page 4

insula High School senior Maya Masaoka said. “However, as someone who does not have a car and whose parents both work, I have no method of getting to and from school in time, resulting in me switching to distance learning.”

Now that the cohort plan has been scrapped and replaced with a simpler all-day schedule, many students feel they could have stayed in hybrid after all, which is frustrating to find out after already transferring to distance learning. This change in plan was partly due to looser COVID-19 regulations and partly due to the many students that chose to not go through with the hybrid plan.

In an email from District Superintendent Alex Cherniss, it was announced that “the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) have provided schools with new guidance on spacing in classrooms, requiring students to be 3 feet apart rather than 6 feet apart in classrooms…. This new guidance, along with employee vaccinations and smaller than expected numbers of hybrid students returning to our high school campuses, has allowed for the district to announce changes that will begin the process of bringing more and more students safely back on campus.”

That seems like positive news, but after taking into account all of the students who switched because of an issue with the schedule, as well as the

preparations teachers have done to set a schedule that works with the cohorts and their online students, it becomes more of a negative change.

Many teachers now have to scrap all the work they did perfecting their plans based on the old schedule, and students have to readjust to a new daily schedule.

Because of this last minute change,

said. “I hope everyone is understanding of each other and helps each other out because it is going to be really difficult to readjust.”

Despite all of these issues that make the hybrid plan seem overly complicated and unappealing, many students are still confident in their decision to return to campus and regain a sense of normalcy.

“Going back will be a huge transition, and now that there is a new schedule to get used to it is going to be even more overwhelming,” — Claire Robinson Peninsula High School Principal Dr. Brent Kuykendall announced that the school return date would be pushed back a week to April 19, which allows more time to prepare.

However the change from two half-days to four full-days has made students feel the shift back to school is more abrupt than what they initially thought.

Peninsula High School junior Claire Robinson, who was originally signed up for hybrid but is switching to distance learning after all of the changes were announced, feels the shift back to campus is incredibly complicated and will require a lot of support from everyone involved.

“Going back will be a huge transition, and now that there is a new schedule to get used to it is going to be even more overwhelming,” Robinson

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Peninsula junior Samantha Boger loves being around other people and longs for the social aspect of school that has been missing this year. She and many other students have seen the negative impacts of being online firsthand, and she is eager for a chance to return to school in any capacity.

“Many students have struggled with mental health throughout this time of isolation,” Boger said. “I am hopeful that going back to school and being able to see friends daily will make a positive impact on everyone’s well-being.”

Ultimately, the decision to either return to campus or remain online is a personal one, and it is what is best for each individual. There are those who do feel that learning online is detrimental to their mental health, as it is important to have a designated work space and rest space. Working from home has

blurred that line greatly.

Being able to socialize with others, even if it is at a distance, is very important, especially for children and teenagers, and being isolated has longterm negative effects.

On the other hand, COVID-19 is still a very real and very serious issue, and it seems as though many have brushed off the fact that there is still a global pandemic occurring.

The safety concerns of going back to an enclosed classroom with many other people have led a large number of students to opt out of returning, and that is understandable.

The practical issue of commuting to and from school with a strange, altered schedule is also a common factor in the reasoning of those who chose to remain online. The list can go on, from the anxiety of being around so many people after a year of being around nobody but family, to needing consistency to succeed in school and feeling it is not worth going back with only one quarter of the school year remaining.

Luckily, the District is proving to be flexible and accommodating to each student’s choice. Though the schedule changes are not ideal, students and families are being given the opportunity to choose what is best for them.

This past year has been nothing but changes and uncharted territory, and this return to normalcy is just another change everyone has to adapt to.

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Panthers Hit The Track Running

Track & Field

• Peninsula High played host to North Torrance in a dual track and field meet Wednesday.

The Panthers, who have been training at the Miraleste school track, swept the boys’ and girls’ team competition against the Saxons.

Pulling Away . . . Peninsula senior Erin Nimick pulls away for a commanding win in the women’s 100 meter sprint.

Double Winner . . . Peninsula runner Aishling Callanan won the 1500 and 800 races to lead the lady Panthers.

Panthers Sweep . . . Conner Spencer, Devin Sharp, Ali Abdelnaby and Jacob Thomas took the top four positions in the boys’ 1600 meter run.

It’s Soccer Season . . . Peninsula took a 2-0 loss to Santa Monica last week.

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Little Leaguers Are Ready To Compete

Spring Sports

• Peninsula baseball and softball diamonds will soon be active with real games for a shortened spring sports season.

Every league is coming back a little differently, but soon bats and balls from Ernie Howlett Park to Lunada Bay will soon be in motion.

The old Panorama cameraman will be out and about this weekend as we go back on our normal biweekly schedule with another edition out April 24.

Back For The Games, Not The Mask Police Publisher’s Note (crazy talk)

So we’re back, sort of.

Are you? Is anybody?

Everything is almost the same, but not quite.

We were at the first home football game of the year at Peninsula High School where they celebrated opening the new turf field.

The players and cheerleaders were there. The administrators and parents were there. But no students, no kids and no Zoo. It was eerily quiet. You could hear the players cuss on the field. (sorry mom) So I guess high school sports are back, sort of.

The plan is to play every single high school sport (boys and girls) during the next two months. It’s going to be crazy. Already is. Schedules and access change often, but we will try to be there when we can.

I’m not in charge of masks and how they are worn. You have masks at girls’ lacrosse and have no masks at boys’ soccer. No masks on the track, but sometimes on the field. There are masks worn in the stands, and then sometimes not.

We take pictures of people doing things. People running, jumping and throwing. If the mask slips, or for whatever reason it’s not being worn at all - we’re not going to edit our photos based on mask wearing.

Things are changing fast. Sometimes if feels too fast, other times not fast enough. But we will continue to be flexible and will follow all restrictions.

Rumor has it that the old Panorama camera guy is not going inside gyms for basketball and volleyball, which start next week. But then next week he might feel better about it.

Stay flexible.

Keep Your Skills Sharp . . . Baseball players have been training and practicing to keep their skills sharp.

No Fans For Tryouts . . . We’re all hoping we have fans for baseball this spring.

More Community Improvements . . . PV Little League spent the off time working on improving its outfield at Valmonte.

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High School Sports Back In Action . . . High school athletes have about two months to play their favorite sport before summer.